NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – March 6, 2012.

Marc-Andre Fleury backstops Penguins to win over Coyotes…Ducks keep playoff hopes alive with win over Oilers…Sabres fall to Jets…Ray Emery steps up in goal for Blackhawks…Flyers to honor Mark Howe as Red Wing hope for first win in Philadelphia since 1997….Lightning getting lots of one-goal victories…Jeff Skinner getting back to his old form…Devils hoping to score more on Henrik Lundqvist tonight…Capitals working on crashing the net.

Fleury reaches 35-win mark for fourth consecutive season.

POST-GAZETTE.COM: Marc Andre Fleury reached the 35-win mark for the fourth straight year, backstopping the Penguins to their sixth straight win as they downed the Phoenix Coyotes 2-1.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a dozen times already this season: Imagine how good the Penguins would be with a healthy roster. Fleury has been one of the reasons the injury-ravaged Pens are a cinch to make the playoffs.

ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER: The Anaheim Ducks kept their fading playoff hopes alive with a 4-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers.

THE BUFFALO NEWS: The Sabres missed a golden opportunity to move into eighth overall in the Eastern Conference, falling 3-1 to the Winnipeg Jets, who widened their lead over the Sabres to four points.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Let’s see how the Sabres respond to this setback. They’re still in the hunt, but cannot afford any letdowns the rest of the way.

CHICAGO TRIBUNE: Ray Emery has ridden to the rescue between the pipes for the Blackhawks, earning third star of the week for his performance over three games last week.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: It’s reminiscent of Emery’s season-saving performance last year for the Anaheim Ducks. If he can keep it up down the stretch, the Blackhawks should have little worry about clinching a playoff berth.

PHILLY.COM/MLIVE.COM: The Flyers will honor Hall of Fame defenseman Mark Howe tonight in their game against the Detroit Red Wings, who’ll be looking for their first win in Philadelphia since 1997.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Howe played for both clubs, but had his best NHL seasons with the Flyers.

TAMPA BAY TIMES: The Lightning’s past eight wins were by one goal, part of a 14-5-2 streak since January 17th.

NEWSOBSERVER.COM: Hurricanes sophomore Jeff Skinner is rounding back into form after missing several weeks at mid-season to concussion.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: It can take time to fully recover from such injuries. Here’s hoping this is the only time Skinner experiences this in his NHL career.

NEW YORK POST: The Devils are hoping to put more pucks past NY Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist when the two clubs meet tonight. The Devils have managed only two goals on Lundqvist in their last three games.

CSNWASHINGTON.COM: The Capitals are working on crashing the net to generate more scoring chances.

2 Comments

JJB
on March 6, 2012 at 3:30 pm

Emery is one of my fav NHL goalies. The guy has no quit, every time something happens he battles back hard.

Brought Ottawa to Cup Finals
Let go cause of attitude, excelled in Philly
Got what SHOULD have been career ending injury, returned to the Ducks
Hiller goes down, saves Ducks season
Get let go via UFA, picked up late by Hawks as backup
Saving Hawks season

If he goes UFA again this year he should emerge somewhere who will give him a chance to start again. No attitude problems, coming into amazing form, a true heart and soul warrior!

sharkbait
on March 6, 2012 at 6:20 pm

I would have to agree that Emery = Awesome. I’ll never forget the line brawl between the Sabers/Sens when he beat the snot out of Biron.

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